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The deployment of 3200 National Guard members affects more than the service members; it has a huge impact on the families left behind. More than 7,000 Wisconsin children will be without a parent for over a year. It is difficult for a child to be without a parent on their birthday, holidays, and special school events, but kids who have been affected by deployment, say the worst part is worrying everyday about the safety of their parent.
Operation Military Kids (OMK) is a program designed to support the families of deployed service members. Before the Global War on Terrorism, National Guard and Reserve members were gone for short periods of time, but now many are activated and leave home for over a year. During this time families often feel their lives have been turned upside down. OMK builds capacity in local communities and throughout Wisconsin to address issues that these children may be facing.
As part of OMK, the Department of Public Instruction and the Public Library System partnered with the University of Wisconsin Extension Service to provide twenty deployment related books to the seventeen library regions. Each of the state's 480 libraries will have access to the publications and received a summary of each book, compiled to provide families a quick reference to address their particular need. These resources are available to support the children and families of thousands of Wisconsin National Guard and Reserve service members being deployed in 2009 and in the future.
Books are housed in libraries located in Abbotsford, Appleton, Onalaska, Ashland, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin Rapids, Janesville, Rice Lake, Racine, Richland Center, Fond Du Lac, Green Bay, Sussex, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Waupun, Plymouth, and Two Rivers. These communities and the surrounding communities have a concentration of military families and/or have recently experienced the deployment of a local unit. Statewide these resources are available through each library system's inter-library loan program.
Talk with a local librarian for more information and to help request a book. More information can be found at www.uwex.edu/ces/4h/omk .
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